Mr. McGovern (for
himself, Ms. Kaptur,
Ms. McCollum,
Mr. Hastings of Florida,
Mr. Schiff,
Mrs. Napolitano,
Mr. Moran,
Mr. Conyers,
Mr. Neal, Mr. Cicilline, Ms.
Moore, Mr. Grijalva, and
Mr. Jones) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned

A BILL

To establish a grant program to encourage the use of
assistance dogs by certain members of the Armed Forces and
veterans.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Wounded Warrior Service Dog Act of
2013.

2.

Wounded Warrior
K–9 Corps

(a)

Grants
authorized

Subject to the availability of appropriations provided
for such purpose, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall jointly establish a program, to be known as the K–9
Companion Corps Program, to award competitive grants to nonprofit
organizations to assist such organizations in the planning, designing,
establishing, or operating (or any combination thereof) of programs to provide
assistance dogs to covered members and veterans.

(b)

Use of
funds

(1)

In
general

The recipient of a grant under this section shall use the
grant to carry out programs that provide assistance dogs to covered members and
veterans who have a disability described in paragraph (2).

(2)

Disability

A
disability described in this paragraph is any of the following:

(A)

Blindness or
visual impairment.

(B)

Loss of use of a
limb, paralysis, or other significant mobility issues.

(C)

Loss of
hearing.

(D)

Traumatic brain
injury.

(E)

Post-traumatic
stress disorder.

(F)

Any other
disability that the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
consider appropriate.

(3)

Timing of
award

The Secretaries may not award a grant under this section to
reimburse a recipient for costs previously incurred by the recipient in
carrying out a program to provide assistance dogs to covered members and
veterans unless the recipient elects for the award to be such a
reimbursement.

(c)

Eligibility

To
be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit organization
shall submit an application to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs at such time, in such manner, and containing such information
as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may require.
Such application shall include—

(1)

a
proposal for the evaluation required by subsection (d); and

(2)

a
description of—

(A)

the training that
will be provided by the organization to covered members and veterans;

(B)

the training of
dogs that will serve as assistance dogs;

(C)

the aftercare
services that the organization will provide for such dogs and covered members
and veterans;

(D)

the plan for
publicizing the availability of such dogs through a targeted marketing campaign
to covered members and veterans;

(E)

the recognized
expertise of the organization in breeding and training such dogs;

(F)

the commitment of
the organization to comparable standards as that of the International Guide Dog
Federation or Assistance Dogs International;

(G)

the commitment of
the organization to humane standards for animals; and

(H)

the experience of
the organization with working with military medical treatment facilities or
medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(d)

Evaluation

The
Secretary shall require each recipient of a grant to use a portion of the funds
made available through the grant to conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness
of the activities carried out through the grant by such recipient.

(e)

Definitions

In
this Act:

(1)

Assistance
dog

The term assistance dog means a dog
specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate the effects of a
disability described in subsection (b)(2), except that the term does not
include a dog specifically trained for comfort or personal defense.